2018
The 2018 election was not only a Democratic wave. It was one of historical proportions.
Democrats: 59,525,244 (53.2 percent of total popular vote)
Republicans: 50,516,570 (45.1 percent)
The raw vote margin, which is slightly over 9 million, is the largest gap between the two parties in the history of midterms, according to Wasserman. And the 8.1 percent spread between Democrats and Republicans is, according to Princeton professor Sam Wang, a larger percentage-point differential than in any recent wave midterm election including 1994 (R+7.1 percent), 2006 (D+8.0 percent), 2010 (R+7.2 percent) and 2014 (R+5.7 percent)
Given those raw vote numbers, you might be wondering why House Democrats didn’t pick up even more seats earlier this month. And the answer, in a word, is redistricting. Remember that Republicans controlled a huge number of state legislatures and governor’s mansions following their 2010 wave. That control meant the GOP got to draw the congressional lines in lots and lots of states, creating House districts that they believed would make it impossible for them to lose their House majority in the next decade. It took eight of those 10 years for Democrats to seize control, but there’s no question that the soon-to-be-majority party’s gains would have been far larger if not for the lines drawn by their GOP colleagues eight years ago. CNN2020
Amy Kloubhchar is ‘Minnesota Nice,’ but is that what Democrats wants for 2020? New York Times
The five most competitive races for 2020, The Hill
Several Democrats — including Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio) — hinted at their intentions to run for president in 2020. Felicia Sonmez and Matt Zapotosky report: “In an interview with N.J. Advance Media published Sunday, [Booker] said he’s being urged by supporters to pursue a 2020 presidential run. ‘I will consider running for president,’ Booker said. ‘That’s something that I will do. There’s people in New Jersey who are talking to me about it, across the country that are talking to me about it, so I will consider that.’ [Klobuchar] also said she is mulling a bid, although she declined to say definitively whether she plans to run. In an interview on ABC’s ‘This Week,’ she touted her bipartisan appeal and her reputation as someone who ‘likes to get things done.’ … [Brown] said he was ‘seriously thinking about’ running for president and that he and his wife have been ‘overwhelmed’ by the number of people urging him to consider a run.” Washington Post
Climate Change
Trump rejects key conclusion of US government climate report, Star Tribune
Confederate Monuments
Congressional Activity This Week
- Congress has yet to reach an agreement on year-end funding. The seven outstanding FY 2019 appropriations bills — Agriculture, Financial Services, Interior-Environment, Transportation-HUD, Commerce-Justice-Science, Homeland Security, and State-Foreign Operations — amount to about a quarter of all federal funding. In order to avoid a partial government shutdown, Congressional negotiators must reach an agreement on the funding bills or pass another short-term continuing resolution by Dec. 7.
- Democratic House members will meet on Wednesday to elect their new leadership team.
- The Senate will consider Saudi Arabia’s role in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the civil war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
- Senate Republicans have teed up a number of controversial nominations, which they will begin considering this week.
- Congress still has yet to reach agreements on the expired Farm Bill.
- Republicans are deciding whether and when to bring up Trump-endorsed, bipartisancriminal justice reform legislation.
General Motors
What they’re saying: Politicians react to GM closings in their backyards, Axios
GM to lay off up to 14K workers, close 5 plants, Star Tribune
GM is laying off 14,300 employees. It’s shuttering five factories in the U.S. and Canada, and says that two more closings will be announced internationally. By next year, it will no longer make the Buick LaCrosse, the Chevrolet Impala, or the Cadillac CT6 sedan. It’s even killing the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid. All the top-selling sedans in America — the Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Altima, and Nissan Sentra — are Japanese. American carmakers can’t compete, and are giving up that segment of the market. Instead they’re concentrating on trucks, SUVs, and crossovers, which have higher profit margins and growing demand. Ford has already announced that it is effectively getting out of the car business. By 2020, it will no longer sell the Fiesta, Taurus, Fusion or Focus in North America. Only the Mustang will remain, along with a crossover called the Focus Active. A major secular employment shift away from unionized factory workers and Detroit middle-management lifers. Expect the United Auto Workers, still GM’s largest shareholder with a $3.6 billion stake in the company, to remain extremely unhappy for the foreseeable future. Axios
Governor’s Residence
Man charged after vehicle crashes through gate at governor’s mansion, MPR
Higher Education
Minnesota’s tech colleges see surge in skilled-trades training, MPR
Immigration
Local Government Aid (LGA)
Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities again looks to boost LGA, Bemidji Pioneer
Minnesota
Why Minnesota is more blue than purple, MinnPost
Mississippi
5 things to watch in the Mississippi Senate race, The Hill
Trump rallies Hyde-Smith voters as Epsy pushes turnout, Star Tribune
Omar, Ilhan
Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar: Lets stand together as Americans in rejecting hate, Star Tribune
Smith, Tina
Featured in Elle magazine.
Trump
White House
Walz Administration
Walz transition panel begins its advisory work, MPR
As clock ticks, Gov.-elect Walz’s advisers start shaping administration, KSTP
‘He’ll be a voice for us’: Walz’s election spurs optimism among Central Minnesota educators, St. Cloud Times
DEED Commissioner Shawnterra Hardy told WCCO Radio that she will not seek keep her post in the Walz-Flanagan administration.
Upcoming DFL Events
- November 30, 12:00 to 1:00 PM — Stand Against Trump, SD40 DFL Treasurer John Schaefer is holding a weekly hour of protest and resistance at the corner of Brookdale Blvd. and Xerxes Avenue in Brooklyn Park. Join him if you can.
- December 2 through 10 — Chanukah
- December 4
- 7:00 to 8:30 PM — SD37 DFL Central Committee Meeting, check their Facebook pagefor this month’s location.
- 7:00 to 8:30 PM — SD40 DFL Central Committee Meeting, more information as it becomes available
- December 5 — SD33 DFL Central Committee meeting, more information as it becomes available
- December 7, 12:00 to 1:00 PM — Stand Against Trump, SD40 DFL Treasurer John Schaefer is holding a weekly hour of protest and resistance at the corner of Brookdale Blvd. and Xerxes Avenue in Brooklyn Park. Join him if you can.
- December 8 — DFL State Central Committee Meeting, more information as it becomes available.
- December 9
- 1:00 to 2:00 PM — SD40 DFL Book Club meeting, m ore information as it becomes available
- December 10
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD44 DFL Central Committee Meeting, Council Chambers, Minnetonka Community Center, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55435
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD49 DFL Central Committee Meeting, 7001 Cahill Rd, Suite 21, Edina, MN
- December 11, 7:00 to 8:30 PM — SD34 DFL Executive Committee Meeting, location TBD
- December 12
- 6:30 to 8:30 PM — SD50 DFL Central Committee Meeting, Room C102, Kennedy High School, 9701 Nicollet Ave, Bloomington, MN 55420. 6:30 to 7:00 social time. Meeting convenes at 7:00 PM.
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD45 DFL Central Committee Meeting, City of Crystal, 4141 Douglas Dr N, Crystal, MN 55422
- December 13, 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD48 DFL Central Committee Meeting, Glen Lake Activity Center, 14350 Excelsior Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55345.
- December 14, 12:00 to 1:00 PM — Stand Against Trump, SD40 DFL Treasurer John Schaefer is holding a weekly hour of protest and resistance at the corner of Brookdale Blvd. and Xerxes Avenue in Brooklyn Park. Join him if you can.
- December 17, 7:00 to 8:30 PM — Brooklyn Park DFL meeting, Brooklyn Park Public Library, 6500 W Broadway Ave, Brooklyn Park, MN
- December 19, 6:00 to 9:00 PM — CD3 DFL Holiday Celebration, Nelson Residence, 15440 Boulder Pointe Rd, Eden Prairie, MN 55347. Bring an appetizer, dessert or beverage to share (no red wine, please). We’ll be honoring all our DFL candidates, their families and campaign members.
- December 21, 12:00 to 1:00 PM — Stand Against Trump, SD40 DFL Treasurer John Schaefer is holding a weekly hour of protest and resistance at the corner of Brookdale Blvd. and Xerxes Avenue in Brooklyn Park. Join him if you can.
- December 25 — Christmas
- December 28, 12:00 to 1:00 PM — Stand Against Trump, SD40 DFL Treasurer John Schaefer is holding a weekly hour of protest and resistance at the corner of Brookdale Blvd. and Xerxes Avenue in Brooklyn Park. Join him if you can.
- December 31 — New Year’s Eve
- January 1 — New Year’s Day
- January 3
- First Day of Minnesota Legislative Session
- First Day of U.S. Congressional Session